European Union says it will lure Ireland after Brexit

Date of publication: 29 04 2017, 13:27

Brussels, Belgium. Not content to simply let the United Kingdom quietly have its divorce from the European Union, the EU is now trying to lure the Irish daughter of Britain into a relationship with Brussels.

European Union leaders at a Brexit summit on Saturday should tender a notice of intent upon Britain of thier intent to offer a united Ireland full membership in the EU if a referendum unites the island, diplomats said on Friday.

Irish Prime Minister Kenny has previously asked fellow members of the bloc to acknowledge that Northern Ireland would like to automatically enter the EU in the event of unification with the existing member state, the Irish Republic.

The Irish PM Kenny will ask 26 leaders in Brussels to endorse a plan for Britain’s withdrawal to give a political endorsement to what Irish and EU legal experts say is the position in international law of such territorial changes.

The EU currently does not take a stand on the possibility of a united Ireland. Should this question arise, it would be for the peoples of Ireland and Northern Ireland to decide in accordance with relevant internal and national laws.

The 1998 peace accord, backed by the British and Irish states, says referendums should be held on both sides of the border to approve unification of the island. The current British government has acknowledged that Northern Ireland, if it united with the Republic, should be in a position to rejoin the EU, should its population agree.